Laundry or clothes rack



Dec. 4, 1956 w. GILL LAUNDRY OR CLOTHES RACK Filed Sept. 15, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet l FIG.

Dec. 4, 1956 w. L, GILL LAUNDRY OR CLOTHES RACK 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 15, 1954 FIG 6 FIG. 8

FIG. IO

FIG. 5

25 FIG. 9

' FIG. 7

INVENTOR.

WALTER L. GILL Dec. 4, 1956 w. GILL LAUNDRY OR CLOTHES RACK I5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 15, 1954 INVENTOR.

WALTER L. GILL United States Patent 2,772,788 LAUNDRY 0R CLOTHES RAcK Walter L. Gill, Redlands, Calif. Application September 15, 1954, Serial No.456,214-

' 6 Claims. (Cl. 211-178) This invention relates to laundry or clothes racks. Its object is to provide an article of this nature adapted to receive and support a relatively large number of conventional wire clothes hangers in such manner that garments or other fabric materials may be held suspended and wholly out of contact with any part of the rack and out I 2,772,788 Patented Dec. 4, 1956 angles with respect to the arms that when the arms lie in the divergent positions illustrated in Fig. 1 the shanks 13 lie parallel with each other and side by side. These shanks enter and substantially fill the socket or recess 14, located of contact with any object which might wrinkle or soil them.

As this description proceeds it will be seen that the structure disclosed accomplishes the foregoing ObJBClZS through an assembly comprising a relatively few and inexpensive parts so interrelated that the rack may be rack, being provided with a uniting block which, not only unites the divergent hanger supporting arms with the legs but provides a hand grasp portion for use in carrying a rack of freshly laundered clothes from the point of ironing to their place of final deposit, as upon. shelves or within dresser drawers, etc.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one form of the rack;

Fig. 2 is an edge elevation of one of the divergent'supporting arms;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view through the upper portion of a uniting block hereinafter described;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view through the lower portion of the uniting block;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged side view of the uniting block;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the uniting block;

Fig. 7 is an underside plan view of said block;

Fig. 8 is a side view, partly in section of an alternative top, supporting member, hereinafter described;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the shank element of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is an underside plan of said shank element;

Fig. 11 is a side elevation of a modified form ofthe' invention featuring especially a very economical form of uniting block adapted to be produced as a die casting; and

in the top of block 5 so that when the bolt 12 is in place and its nut tightened, the arms are held securely to the to the block and against rocking in any direction.

When the rack is in use the upper ends of arms 11 are held against separation by a latch bar 15 one end of which is pivoted to one of said arms at 16. The other end of said bar is provided with a notched portion 17 which engages a notched portion 18 of the other of said arms.

The outer edges of arms 11 are provided with a plurality of notches 19 which incline downwardly from their upwardly facing open ends. These notches are dimensioned to receive the hook like supporting members 20 of conventional wire clothes hangers 21. The overhang provided by the inclination of the arms, spaces garments or other fabric articles, carried by the hangers from each other, in both vertical and horizontal planes and thus insures that none of said articles will become soiled, wrinkled or mussed,

It would be within the purview of the invention to bind the shanks of more than two divergent arms within the socket 14 and thus increase the capacity of the rack. However I prefer the arrangement shown because it permits the user to freely approach the loaded rack from the front, in Fig. 1 to lift and carry it by grasping the uniting block. I am aware of the fact that it is common to employ racks comprising foldable, divergent arms and legs and this, broadly, I do not claim. However, the centrally disposed block 5, constituting a uniting member between the novel detachable clothes hanger supporting arms and the wholly separate legs, the latter being secured in permanent relation to the block,- provides an assembly adapted to be readily packaged in a package no longer than the combined length of the legs and block. In this respect the invention differs from racks in which the arms and Fig. 12 is a horizontal section upon line 1212 of v Fig. 11 .with the two rear legs omitted and beforelthe pivoting stud has been riveted over. a j f'" Like numerals designate corresponding parts in all of the figures of the drawing. a p p In the drawings, 5 designates a vertically disposed uniting block. I

Pairs of ears 6 disposed 120 degrees apart and located upon the bottom of the block have the upper ends of supporting legs 7 pivoted between the ears of the pairs, upon pivots 8. A central projection 9 upon the bottom of the block constitutes an abutment against which flattened portions 10 of the legs abut to limit outward movement of the lower ends of the legs. While I have shown only 3 legs, more may be used if desired. Divergent supporting arms 11 are secured to block 5 by a bolt 12, said bolt legs are in one piece.

When the device is not in use it may readily be disassembled by disengaging latch bar 15 with the notched portion of one of the arms 11 and removing bolt 12.

Arms 11. may then be laid side to side along with the latch bar. The legs 7 may be swung upon their pivots 8 to lie parallel with each other and with the block and the whole may be nested into a small package for shipment or storage.

In Fig. 8, 22 designates a tubular extension member having its upper and lower ends partially flattened as at 23 and 24 respectively. The flattening of the upper end of said member creates a socket end 25, adapted to receive the shank 26 of a T head. This head is preferably formed by suitably bending a rodto comprise the horizontal arms 27 and 28, and the downturned shank 26 formed by bendingthe material of themember upon itself to constitute the twoyertical runs which form said shank. The exterior of the flattened lower portion 24 of tubular member 22 is dimensioned to fit Within the socket 14 of block 5 and said flattened portion 24 may be provided with a hole 29 forvthe passage of bolt 12, if desired, the horizontal arrnsf27 and 28 carrying upstanding portions 27a which may be formed by merely notching the bar. These upstanding portions prevent the hook members of Wire garment hangers from being pushed off the ends of the horizontal runs, which runs will accommodate a sizable number of said hangers.

While I prefer to employ a latch bar such as 15 for connecting the upper portions of the divergent arms, the omission of such bar will not constitute a departure from 3 the invention, since if the bars are made sufficiently rigid their firm mounting in the socket of the uniting block will be sufiicient to support them.

Figs. 11 and 12 illustrate a form of uniting block made as a single unitary element embodying a block B that is triangular in horizontal section. Thus three fiat faces 35 are produced. These faces are indented over portions of their areas to create recesses 36 within which the upper portions of pivoted legs 7A swing. The swinging movement of the legs is limited by the stop ledges 38 and 39 which constitute the edges of non-indented portions of the block. An upstanding integral lug 41 projects from the top of the block. The studs 40 and 41 project from the faces by which they are carried and are readily formed as apart of an integral die casting B. The ledges 38 and 39 are also readily formed as an integral. part of the die casting.

When the legs are in place their outer faces are substantially flush with the corresponding faces of the block. Referring to Fig. 12 it will be seen that the studs 40 are, in. the initialformation of the block, made long enough to have their outer ends merely riveted over, in the securing of the legs to the block while leaving them free enough to be swung from the position of Fig. 11 to a position where said legs lie in parallel with each other and with the vertical axis of the block. As previously described it is an object of the invention to provide a structure having a plurality of divergent arms, and a plurality of supporting legs, the arms and legs being operatively connected by an intermediate connecting block adapted to be grasped by the user in lifting the rack to carry it from place to place; as for example, from a laundry room where it has been loaded, to bedrooms where the ironed garments are to be hung in closets or otherwise put away. To facilitate this transportation of a loaded rack the divergent arms 11 are preferably disposed, as shown, at acute angles with respect to the vertical axis of the uniting block 5. By virtue of this disposition of the arms several important objects are accomplished to wit: The arms 11 lie close enough to the vertical plane to make it possible to form in their outer edges the notches 19 at such angles, for the notches, that garment hangers hung therein can'- not easily be dislodged therefrom in the carrying of the loaded rack from place to place. Further this brings the load of overlapping garments so close to the vertical axis of the rack that the user can, within arms length, reach the block to grasp and lift the load. This arrangement, in addition, brings the load on the arms closer to the vertical axis than would be the case with the arms 11 lying relatively close to the horizontal; whereby the center of gravity of the load is such that the tendency of the structure to tip is materially lessened. Further all garments are kept in separate planes.

Lug 41 serves to receive the socketed lower end 24a of an extension member 22a which corresponds to member 22 in Fig. 8. A bolt 24b may be used, if desired, to bind socket 241: to lug 41. The upper end of the extension member is adapted to receive either shanks 13a of divergent arms 11 (which correspond to the like members 13 and 11 in Fig. 1) or the members 26 in Fig. 8.

The invention is notlimited to the precise constructionshown but includes withinits purview whatever changes fairly fall within either the terms or the spiritof the appended claims.

Having described my invention what I claim is:

1. A uniting block for racks of the type which comprise a plurality of garment supporting arms and a plurality of separate swinging legs, said block consisting of a polygonal unitary member which in horizontal cross section presents a plurality of external flat faces indented to pro vide recesses over a portion of their interior areas and leaving outstanding stop edges at the juncture of the indented portions, and integral studs outstanding from said indented areas and so positioned with respect to said ledges that legs pivoted upon said stud will be limited by said ledges in their outward swinging movement, to lie at an angle to support said block.

2. A structure as recited in claim I in combination with an upstanding lug projecting vertically from the top of the block. I

3: A uniting block of the character described having an integral lug upstanding from the top thereof, garment supporting elements adapted to engage said lug to be supported thereby, said block being triangular in horizontal cross section and presenting three flat, vertical external faces, said faces being indented over portions of their central areas leaving outstanding stop ledges at the juncture of the indented and non-indented portions of the block faces, three supporting legs having their upper end por= tions pivoted to the block and lying and moving in the indented portions, the pivot points of the legs being such that outward swinging movement of the legs is limited by said stop ledges, the outer faces of the legs lying flush with the outer faces of the block. g

4. A structure as recited in claim 3 wherein inward swinging movement of the legs is limited by other of said ledges to positions where the legs lie in parallel with each other and with the vertical axis of the block.

5. A structure as recited in claim 3 wherein inward swinging movement of the legs is limited by other of said ledges to positions where the legs lie parallel with each other and with the vertical axis of the block, the pivoting means of the legs comprising lugs integral with the block.

6. A uniting block for uniting the arms and legs of clothes racks, said block being triangular in horizontal section and presenting three flat vertical outer faces disposed at angles of degrees with respect to each other, each of said faces being indented over portions of their central areas, leaving outstanding vertical ledges at the juncture of the indented and non indented portions of the block faces, along the opposite sides of said indented portions;- an integral stud outstanding from and lying perpendicular to each of the indented portions of said faces and a vertically disposed lug upstanding axially from the top of said block.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 67,764 HOW Aug. 13, 1867 101,999 Haines Apr. 19, 1870 227,152 Crocker May 4, 1880 244,814 Logan July 26, 1881 343,023 Geisler June 1, 1886 514,851 Hiser Feb. 13, 1894 617,611- Strickland Jan. 10, 1899 841,058 Sherlock Jan, 8,. 1907 983,589 Wendt Feb. 7, 1911 1,073,531 Schneider Sept. 16,. 1913 12,481,998 Eldredge Jan. 29, 1924 1,729,395 Mandel Sept. 24, 19-29 1,883,497 1 Bicknell Oct. 18, 1932 2,022,712 Firle Dec. 3, 1935 2,392,011 Stringer s Jan. 1, 1946 2,621,802 Stover Dec. 16, 

